Background and Objectives: Facial paralysis involves the complete or partial loss of facial movement due to damage to the facial nerve, leading to impaired voluntary muscle function and facial asymmetry. Given its significant physical and psychosocial impact, there is an urgent need to strengthen the evidence supporting non-pharmacological treatments. This umbrella review aims to compile the most reliable and current data to establish a consensus on the effectiveness of such interventions for patients with facial paralysis. Materials and Methods: This study is an umbrella review. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and CINAHL (28 July 2024). The variables assessed included overall healing/recovery rate, facial disability, and facial function. Methodological quality was evaluated using the AMSTAR and ROBIS tools. Screening was performed independently by two reviewers, with a third reviewer resolving any discrepancies. Results: Five systematic reviews were included, all evaluating the impact of non-pharmacological interventions in facial paralysis. The findings suggest that acupuncture and electrical stimulation may improve recovery rates and facial function, although high heterogeneity and methodological limitations were noted in some studies. No definitive conclusions could be drawn regarding facial disability. Conclusions: The combination of electrotherapy with other complementary techniques, such as facial exercises or laser therapy, appears to be a safe and potentially effective approach for facial paralysis rehabilitation. Nonetheless, further research employing standardized protocols and higher methodological quality is necessary to establish more robust conclusions for physiotherapeutic practice.

Chronic upper limb pain is rather common among people in general and is characterized by a complex diagnosis due to the wide variety of factors that are involved in its development. In terms of treatment, pharmacology and manual therapy have classically been the most used options. However, based on current evidence, recommendations are more inclined to apply multimodal treatments, mainly with exercise therapy and pain education, based on the patient-centered care model. This case report details the evaluation and treatment of a 23-year-old woman with chronic upper limb pain using a multimodal physical therapy with a biobehavioral approach. The intervention lasted 12 weeks with a total of 9 sessions, in which manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, pain neuroscience education, motion representation methods, and sensory retraining were applied. The treatment resulted in a substantial improvement in the patient’s health condition. This case report indicates that a multimodal physical therapy treatment based on a biobehavioral approach may offer benefits in reducing pain symptoms and enhancing somatosensory, motor-functional, and affective-cognitive abilities in patients with chronic upper limb pain, as observed in the described case. Accordingly, this treatment can be a therapeutic option for patients with chronic upper limb pain.

Objective: To assess the ability to generate both kinesthetic and visual motor imagery in participants with chronic shoulder pain, compared with asymptomatic subjects. To assess the influence of psychosocial and motor variables in the motor imagery process. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted with a non-probability sample of 30 participants, divided into 15 patients with chronic shoulder pain and 15 asymptomatic subjects. Participants completed socio-demographic questionnaires, followed by assessment of mental imagery and mental chronometry using the MIQ-R questionnaire, as well as range of motion and grip strength. Results: Patients with chronic shoulder pain had difficulty generating kinesthetic and visual MI ( p 0.80) and also took a longer time to imagine them ( p −0.80). A moderate-positive association was found between the levels of CPSEQ and the kinesthetic motor imagery ability (r = 0.54, p = 0.035), explaining 24.5% of the variance. In addition, a moderate-positive association was also found between the strength of the affected upper limb with the total score of MIQ-R (r = 0.56, p = 0.037), explaining 25.7% of the variance. Conclusions: Based on the obtained results, it seems that patients with chronic shoulder pain have greater difficulty with generating both kinesthetic and visual motor images compared to asymptomatic subjects, and they also needed more time to perform the mental tasks. It was found that psychosocial state and motor condition may influence the imagining ability of patients with chronic shoulder pain. Further research is needed to improve our understanding and to be able to establish clinical implications.

Background/Objectives: Pain memory refers to the ability to encode, store, and recall information related to a specific pain event. Reviewing its common features is crucial, as it provides researchers with a foundational guide for designing studies that assess pain memory in individuals with chronic pain. The primary objective of this study was to examine the common characteristics—particularly the methodological approaches—of existing research on pain memory in adults with chronic pain. Methods: A scoping review was conducted using PubMed and Embase as search databases. Studies were included if they met the following criteria. (a) It involved only adults with chronic pain and (b) assessed at least one of the following parameters: pain intensity or pain unpleasantness. The exclusion criteria were the following: (a) not having pain memory assessment as a primary objective, (b) including participants under 18 years of age, (c) involving individuals without chronic pain (e.g., those with acute pain or healthy participants), (d) lacking essential information, or (e) unavailability of the full text. Results: From an initial pool of 4585 papers, 11 studies met the inclusion criteria. All studies exclusively involved adults with chronic pain, and all reported pain intensity, while only 27% assessed pain unpleasantness. Additionally, psychosocial variables were the most frequently reported non-pain-related outcomes. Regarding study protocols, most relied on daily data collection, with the most common recall period being within the first 48 h. Conclusions: The methodological characteristics identified in this review—particularly those with a high frequency of occurrence—should serve as fundamental guidelines for future research on pain memory in adults with chronic pain, and should be carefully considered by investigators in this field.

Objective To assess the ability to generate both kinesthetic and visual motor imagery in participants with chronic shoulder pain, compared with asymptomatic subjects. To assess the influence of psychosocial and motor variables in the motor imagery process. Methods A cross-sectional observational study was conducted with a non-probability sample of 30 participants, divided into 15 patients with chronic shoulder pain and 15 asymptomatic subjects. Participants completed socio-demographic questionnaires, followed by assessment of mental imagery and mental chronometry using the MIQ-R questionnaire, as well as range of motion and grip strength. Results Our results indicated that patients with chronic shoulder pain had difficulty generating kinesthetic and visual MI (p0.80) and also took a longer time to imagine them (p-0.80). A moderate-positive association was found between the levels of CPSS and the kinesthetic motor imagery ability (r=0.54, p=0.035), explaining 24.5% of the variance. In addition, a moderate-positive association was also found between the strength of the affected upper limb with the total score of MIQ-R (r=0.56, p=0.037), explaining 25.7% of the variance. Conclusions Based on the obtained results, it seems that patients with chronic shoulder pain have greater difficulty with generating both kinesthetic and visual motor images compared to asymptomatic subjects, and they also needed more time to perform the mental tasks. It was found that psychosocial state and motor condition may influence the imagining ability of patients with chronic shoulder pain. Further research is needed to improve our understanding and to be able to establish clinical implications.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the effect of observing actions at different speeds on the speed of motor task performance in subsequent actions. Methods: Sixty individuals, divided equally between those with non-specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP) and asymptomatic subjects, were enrolled. Participants were further split into subgroups to observe lumbar flexion and Timed Up and Go (TUG) test actions at either a slow or fast pace, following a randomized assignment. For post-video observation, participants replicated the observed actions three times without specific performance instructions, allowing for the assessment of their execution speed. Results: The analysis revealed that individuals observing actions at a faster pace executed the subsequent motor tasks significantly quicker than their counterparts who viewed the same actions at a slower speed. This was consistent across both NSCLBP sufferers and asymptomatic subjects, indicating that the action observation (AO) speed directly influenced the execution speeds of lumbar flexion and TUG test movements. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate that AO speed significantly affects the pace of motor execution, irrespective of NSCLBP presence. This underscores the potential of utilizing varied AO speeds as a strategic component in clinical practice, particularly for enhancing motor planning and execution in physical therapy settings. The study highlights the importance of incorporating AO speed variations into therapeutic interventions for improving patient outcomes in motor task performance.